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DON’T BE SURPRISED THAT GREILING DEFENDED FRANKEN’S GRAPHIC PLAYBOY COLUMN: SHE OPPOSED EFFORTS TO USE INTERNET PORN FILTERS TO PROTECT KIDS FROM PORNOGRAPHY AND OBSCENITY
By Michael B. Brodkorb | June 4, 2008
Last week Representative Mindy Greiling came to the defense of Al Franken as he faced criticism for his graphic Playboy column from 2000:
“But State Representative Mindy Greiling of Roseville, a Franken backer and delegate to the convention, believes the Playboy issue is being blown out of proportion.
She argues that Minnesotans are sophisticated enough to separate what Al Franken wrote for a men’s magazine while in total comedy mode eight years ago from how he’ll approach policy issues now facing the nation.
‘This was his former job,’ Greiling told KARE 11 Friday, ‘And he’s going to Washington to be serious for our issues. I think we need a person with a sense of humor and intelligence like him, and we have to put it all in context.’” Source: KARE 11, June 4, 2008
Click here for the complete
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. In 2004, Greiling was one of only 18 members of the House of Representatives to vote against requiring public libraries and public schools to use internet porn filters to protect kids from pornography and obscenity.
Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for more information on this developing story.
Topics: Uncategorized | 48 Comments »
48 Responses to “DON’T BE SURPRISED THAT GREILING DEFENDED FRANKEN’S GRAPHIC PLAYBOY COLUMN: SHE OPPOSED EFFORTS TO USE INTERNET PORN FILTERS TO PROTECT KIDS FROM PORNOGRAPHY AND OBSCENITY”
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June 4th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
That’s a pretty misleading connection. Anyone with any technical aptitude knows that internet filters are notoriously bad at flagging false positives and letting plenty of “objectionable” material through.
It would seem that Greiling was actually making a smart decision on the bill, which imposes unnecessary restrictions on libraries internet access. Sorry, asking a librarian to unblock Flickr (which is blocked in many libraries as a result of this law) is totally orwellian and unneeded.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
What a shock. Michael favors censorship, and has found a way to attack a democrat for her stand against a ridiculously feel-good, do nothing piece of legislation.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
When is the book burning party, Michael?
June 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Angry Al is completely free to write whatever filth he wants to. But I’m equally free to vote against him for his completely lack of judgment and morals.
No book burning required.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I agree. If you don’t like Al, don’t vote Al.
Or, you can join the majority of the state this November who won’t be voting for Norm “Bush Light” Coleman.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Is this the same Mindy Greiling who tried to cut off the QComp program for schools but then allowed the bigggest school in her district to continue it?
The same Mindy Greiling who flat out admitted in public that she was purposely using school funding as a political weapon?
Yes. Hippocrite.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Don’t give me this free speech bullshit Leroy. It was Mindy Greiling who abused her authority and attacked first amendment rights when she demanded that the Star Tribune fire a columnist for writing a wholly accurate article about abuses at an area charter school.
What’s consistent here is Democrats racing to the bottom of the barrel in their support for that corrupt, hate-mongering pile of shit, Al Franken.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Grieling is a shining example of a worthless Democrat. If she didn’t continuously exercise bad judgment, one would think she had no judgment at all. Kinda like Barak “always wrong” Obama…
Can Democrats do any better than this cadre of vacuous, socialist idiots?
June 4th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Yes…that’s what we need. Free porn in our libraries. All you liberals won’t be happy until we have posters hanging in the same libraries of male and female genitals.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
“ridiculously do nothing, feel-good legislation…”
A very apt way to describe the entire DFL legislative agenda and work ethic. Ridiculously do nothing and feel-good.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Gee Chestnut, vent often?
Four posts in 13 minutes. Must be a new record for you.
There are no first amendment issues with asking a private company to fire a worthless employee, and I defy you to say otherwise.
And when you call the Democrats the party of child abuse, when Mark Foley was head of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, and he was stalking pages, what party was he in again, I forget.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
If Mark Foley had been a Democrat, he wouldn’t have resigned, he’d be Speaker of the House.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
In other news Le*uckWad doesn’t know the meaning of the word “defy”. What an idiot.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I don’t conflate the two issues presented.
Whether this “output” of Al Franken is from a former job or not, it does put him in a seamier light. I know some Democrats REALLY don’t mind that at all, but I sincerely hope that enough of them do to keep this man of low character from misrepresenting Minnesota to the nation.
I don’t like internet filters, especially ones that don’t let you drill down into exactly what they are filtering. But, I have no problem with requiring libraries to filter internet access. Libraries exist to serve a purpose in their communities, but providing “uncensored” access to the internet is not necessarily one of them. You might have to pay real money for that. *shrug*
June 4th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Did Mindy Grieling pass a law saying they had to fire KKK? Did she suggest that she PLANNED TO INTRODUCE a law outlawing KKK? Did she say that as a state representative, she would use the full power of the legislature to attack the Strib if they didn’t fire KKK?
No.
She suggested that they should fire her, and ask people to sign a petition saying as much.
This has as much to do with the first amendment as it does with squash farming. If you disagree, go read the first amendment again.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
So, legislators are not allowed to have opinions anymore? Just because few republicans ever take a stand for anything is no reason to believe that every legislator should be gagged.
Also, using your theory, it seems that Laura Brod and Betsy Wergin should also now resign for attempting to silence Al Franken.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
This pretty well sums up how stupid you are:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
June 4th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I have read Gulliver’s Travels [around 1726, amended 1735] by JONATHAN SWIFT. It is satire and parody.
Literature contains legendary creatures. Bestiarum vocabulum describes beasts (animals), birds, rocks, accompanied by moral lessons.
For example the pelican, which was believed to tear open its breast to bring its young to life with its own blood, was a living representation of Jesus.
MBB/MDE MOBS, MALIGNS MINDY is what you seem to be heading towards.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
To attack their rights, she would have had to threaten them (or even her) with some form of legislative sanction.
She simply requested that the paper fire a columnist who is known to allow her partisanship get in the way of the facts.
And since the US Constitution didn’t help you any, here is the most relevant line from the Minnesota constitution:
Sec. 3. LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. The liberty of the press shall forever remain inviolate, and all persons may freely speak, write and publish their sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of such right.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Folks, please debate the policy and don’t make personal attacks.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Tommy, I mean Leroy,
Are you dense? She demanded the paper fire a columnist for writing something she didn’t like. That’s a textbook abuse of her position. Demanding a firing is an abuse of her official power. And it was an attack on first amendment rights.
That cow should resign. And you should just use your old TwoPuttTommy handle.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
And again, if Grieling holds the litmus test for demands to fire columnists, then Nick Coleman and that commie idiot Klobuchar would be fired weekly.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
In the meantime, Franken’s porn column is a disgrace for anyone who presumes they should represent Minnesotans. he’s an embarrassment who should go back to his home in New York City.
That idiot is free to write it. He’s free to do whatever the hell he wants. He’s not free from the rest of us with some sense of judgment realizing that he’s a dickhead.
He can call whatever he wants “satire…” Add that to his list of failures. Franken is a failed “satiriest.” And he has no business being joining Mark Dayton and Paul Wellstone as Minnesotas next failed Senators.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Chestnut (I mean, Michael)-
Since you finally admit that there are no US or Minnesota constitutional issues with what she did, and you seem to have come around to the idea that what Mindy Grieling did was perfectly acceptable, and, indeed required of someone in her position, I will allow you to bow out of this fight with dignity, rather than reminding people how badly you lost this debate.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
…and this is only the midpoint of THIS week.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I said no such thing Tommy/Leroy. When a public official demands that the press fire a contributor over speech, that’s a textbook First Amendment issue.
What Grieling did was an abuse of power. And she should resign. She has demonstrated herself unworthy of the office. She’s a disgrace.
Goddam you’re stupid.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I will give Tommy/Leroy a point for humor though. It’s not often that some jackass walks in without supporting details and claims victory… oh wait, he stole that from Obama too.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Chestnut,
One thing that you will find is that people have very different perceptions of public schools, charter schools, home schools, private schools, parochial schools, tutoring, etc. and also differing perceptions within those categories.
George Will was on Charlie Rose last night. He wants competition among the schools, however, I believer that he has a child of his own that is handicapped in some way.
So it seems to me that the competition that he seeks would put his child at a disadvantage.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
el presidente,
I have no idea how you could reach that conclusion. Are you familiar with the term non sequitor?
June 4th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Chestnut-
How far did you make it in elementary school before you dropped out to concentrate full-time on your life’s ambition to get a Guinness Book record for repetitive self-inflicted blows to the head with a tire iron?
Not understanding the constitution is fine. Lots of people don’t. We generally call them Republicans.
But to continually make a case that even Michael, Swiftee and the rest of the echo chamber regulars won’t back you up on has to be saying something.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Tommy,
What the hell are you talking about now? And why don’t you just use the old handle when posting here?
And why are you acting soooooo retarded?
June 4th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
It’s not an act…
June 4th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
It’s interesting to see so many fascists, I mean Democrats, working so hard to silence those who report facts about abuses of government largess. I mean, they threaten those who report the truth about the global warming scam. They threaten those who report the truth about danger of socialist medicine. And now they threaten someone who reported the truth about unconstitutional religions instruction taking place at a tax payer financed school. … of course, if that had been a Christian school, they’d be out front burning bibles…. Fascist Democrats are strange, dangerous people.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Chestnut (Michael/Swiftee/Cash/Wade)-
From the party that is trying to fit the constitution into the same shredder that they put the notes from Dick Cheney’s private meetings with Enron into, accusing democrats of silencing public debate is high comedy.
The Department of Education (run by former Republican legislator Alice Seagren) found that KKK’s statements were nearly all unfounded, and the charges that stuck were minor compared to her allegations. The fact that you would ignore documented truth to make a point proves the very level of your depravity.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Well you were just an ignorant fool, now you’re a liar. The Department of Education report said no such thing. In fact, it substantiated every fact in Katherine’s report, and demanded the school take action on a number of specific points.
The fact that you would ignore documented truth to make a point proves the very level of your depravity.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
… I also think the liberal lie that someone has “shredded” constitutional rights to be an act of high comedy. That coming from people who don’t respect or believe in the Constitution in the first place… hilarious.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Chestnut,
The State of Minnesota Constitution contains discriminatory language when it comes to Christian Religion!
And you are complaining on the MDE Website?
Where is Ron Carey when it comes to Reading the Constitution of the State of Minnesota?
He’s concerned about a magazine!
June 4th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Justin is absolutely correct regarding the problem with the legislation on internet filters. Kudos to Rep. Greiling for voting the way she did.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Minnesota Constitution
Article XIII
Miscellaneous Subjects
Section 2. PROHIBITION AS TO AIDING SECTARIAN SCHOOL. In no case shall any public money or property be appropriated or used for the support of schools wherein the distinctive doctrine, creeds or tenets of any particular Christian or other religious sect are promulgated or taught.
——————–
So there you have it Chestnut. The word “Christian” is singled out.
Doesn’t that seem a tad discriminatory to you?
What is permitted? What isn’t permitted?
Don’t you think that public school teachers in Minnesota do a pretty good job threading the needle?
Merry Christmas to you, too, maybe, I think, wait, is this a charter school, Happy Halloween, oh, those are ghosts, El dia de los muertos.
June 4th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Is this the same Mindy Greiling who called on the Star Tribune to fire Katherine Kersten for daring to raise questions about the Islamic charter school? It’s pretty amazing how selective one’s outrage can be.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:33 am
She said it because, despite Chestnuts’ faulty memory, the state of Minnesota investigated KKK’s claims, and found little to no merit to anything she was printing in the state’s largest newspaper.
To back my claim, and odd thing to Chestnutz, the facts: http://www.southwestreviewnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=62&SubSectionID=128&ArticleID=2927&TM=74099.52
When a baseball player hits under .200 for long enough, he gets cut.
When a pizza delivery guy always gets lost delivering pizzas, he gets fired.
Why is it that a columnist whose political agenda nearly always trumps the facts is allowed to stay on staff?
June 5th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Indeed, it is amazing how selective one’s outrage can be.
If one wants to get things tied up in knots, SCHOOL LAWS are the place to look.
It is amazing how many people want to complain until the SCRUTINY game is played, and everyone and everything goes under the microscope… for the longer term.
The first charter school in the nation was in St. Paul.
When the charter schools go belly-up where do most of those students go, sometimes the very next day?
You guessed it. The local public school.
I’ve just posted Section 2., PROHIBITION AS TO AIDING SECTARIAN SCHOOL from the Minnesota Constitution. Is your local public school following the Minnesota Constitution – especially at the time of the Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter?
How about SELECTIVE outrage? Or do most people just let things go?
If there are changes to be made at a Charter School, make them.
Just keep Section 2. in mind next mid-December when talk begins again about the War on Christmas.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Leroy, why are you such a fucking liar?
The State’s investigation fully vindicated everything Katherine Kersten reported, and in fact demanded remediation to three of the most significant areas of illegal activity at the school.
The fact that you would ignore documented truth to make a point proves the very level of your depravity.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:17 am
“Why is it that a columnist whose political agenda nearly always trumps the facts is allowed to stay on staff?”
I dunno. Ask 90 percent of the “reporters” at the Strib. Then ask why Nick Coleman still has a job. That isn’t just a delusional, truth-challenged liberal, he’s f’n lazy.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Funny that LeRoyallyStupid had to go to an extreme liberal newspaper to find a modestly aligned article to support his bullshit. But even that paper reported:
“The MDE [Minnesota Department of Education] report highlighted several problem areas TiZA must address if it is to retain its charter…. ”
And “The current arrangement is unacceptable, according to the MDE report. “Teacher participation in school religious activity is judged by context,” the report reads. “While teachers are forbidden from participating with students in religious activities when acting in their capacities as TiZA employees, teachers may take part in religious activities where the overall context makes clear that they are not participating in their official capacities.”
And… “The Friday prayer sessions may create the impression that the school is officially endorsing religion, and the MDE has instructed TiZA to modify their practices.
By the start of the 2008 school year, TiZA must begin providing transportation at the end of normal classes to students who do not participate in after-school activities.
Likewise, students “released” for Friday prayer must find a different location to pray, as state law requires that supervised religious activity during the school day “must be conducted and maintained in a place other than a public school building.” ”
Anyone who’s paid any attention recognize that every area that the MDE demanded remediation for was the subject of Katherine Kersten’s article.
The MDE investigation fully vindicated Kersten’s claims, and is calling for an end to illegal activity at that school. … contrary to what LeRoyallyStupid has to say.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:47 am
… and still, Grieling abused her office to demand the firing of a reporter who published a story she didn’t like.
Imagine if a Republican had demanded the firing of Nick Coleman for the lies he published following the bridge collapse last summer. LeRoyallyStupid would be outraged.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Leroy Jenkins wrote:
“the state of Minnesota investigated KKK’s claims, and found little to no merit to anything she was printing in the state’s largest newspaper”
Wow. That’s a pretty bogus statement, even based on the article YOU provided:
“The MDE report highlighted several problem areas TiZA must address if it is to retain its charter”
“It will also have to address the issue of Communal Friday prayer.”
“The current arrangement is unacceptable, according to the MDE report”
I guess you were fooled by the bogus headline “For charter school, a murky vindication”, but next time please read the whole article before deciding that it supports your point of view.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Trying to accommodate students who PRAY facing Mecca several times a day can be a challenge but, it can be done.
Release time for religious instruction used to be more popular when it was possible for students to walk to a local church or a local home.
As I have previously stated, if you want to tie yourselves in knots, school law is the place or one place to do it.
What about American Halloween? or a more Latino los dias de los muertos?
So you celebrate or recognize a vernal equinox? The Soviets used to have a large May Day parade. Students used to do a May Pole dance – ah, the good ole’ days.
Is there any “hidden prayer” going on at other types of Charter Schools?
SCRUTINY is that multi-bladed sword that swings in multiple ways.